Letters, March 25: Obama's missed Mideast opportunity?

March 25, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Palestinians burn posters of U.S. President Barack Obama and American flags during a protest against Obama's visit to the West Bank in Gaza City, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Arabic on posters read, "you are unwelcome, the ally of the Zionist enemy and the enemy of the Palestinian people." Obama met with Palestinian officials on the second day of his Mideast tour to emphasize the importance of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. (Adel Hana, Associated Press) ADEL HANA, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Palestinians burn posters of U.S. President Barack Obama and American flags during a protest against Obama's visit to the West Bank in Gaza City, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Arabic on posters read, "you are unwelcome, the ally of the Zionist enemy and the enemy of the Palestinian people." Obama met with Palestinian officials on the second day of his Mideast tour to emphasize the importance of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. (Adel Hana, Associated Press) ADEL HANA, ASSOCIATED PRESS

HUNTINGTON BEACH, John Yenne: President Barack Obama gave a speech last week in Israel to the same demographic that elected him both times in America: progressive university students whose worldview is shaped by liberal, leftist ideology.

Palestinians burn posters of U.S. President Barack Obama and American flags during a protest against Obama's visit to the West Bank in Gaza City, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Arabic on posters read, "you are unwelcome, the ally of the Zionist enemy and the enemy of the Palestinian people." Obama met with Palestinian officials on the second day of his Mideast tour to emphasize the importance of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. (Adel Hana, Associated Press)

It's almost a religious fervor that progressives feel they have the answers to the Israel-Arab conflict, regardless of what the history of this region clearly shows since Israel became a state in 1948.

Of course, there were no "Palestinian" people until Israel miraculously repelled the attacking armies of Syria, Egypt and Jordan in 1967. The Golan Heights belonged to Syria, East Jerusalem and the West Bank fell under Jordanian jurisdiction, and the Sinai and Gaza belonged to Egypt.

Today, the so-called "Palestinian" entities, Hamas and Fatah, have one goal in common: The elimination of the Jewish state, period. Israel time and again has made gestures of peace. We saw this with the late chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, in 2000 and then with current Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in 2005 in a "land for peace" deal by leaving Gaza. In return, Israel got only rockets from Hamas-controlled Gaza after the terror group wrested it from Fatah.

As usual, Obama threw Israel "under the bus" last week as his words portrayed Israel as the "bully" that needs to make more gestures of peace.

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HUNTINGTON BEACH, Michael Barton: We hear a great deal of complaining from conservative America that the Obama administration is not doing enough for Israel ["Obama's Mideast trip," Letters, March 23].

Many of these same conservatives tried to gloss over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's unfortunate "47 percent" remarks. So, for conservatives, does this mean they favor greater commitment to a foreign country and less to roughly half of their own countrymen?

That is frightening.

Immigration dilemma

SANTA ANA, Shelley Coleman: As a U.S. citizen, I don't have access to free services because I have identification and am held accountable.

To solve issues associated with illegal immigration, first, we must close and enforce our borders. Second, let's make the playing field fair by requiring the 11 million undocumented immigrants have proof of identity. Provide a Social Security number. No more free trips to emergency rooms and other social services with no accountability, just because someone claims to not speak English and claims to have no identification.

You can call it amnesty or whatever you want, but undocumented immigrants are not going home anytime soon. We need to stop allowing the free ride and level the playing field.

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HUNTINGTON BEACH, D. Davenport: To solve the immigration dilemma, we must first identify the problem. Legal immigration is not causing anywhere near the amount of problems that illegal immigration causes. The focus has to be on controlling illegal immigration. That starts with a fully fenced and secure border.

Until we stop adding to the problem, no other solution will provide anything but a short-term fix. Logic tells you that, if your boat is taking on water, it is a better idea to stop the leak than to try to deal with the water that has gotten into the boat.

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ANAHEIM, Albert Ogrodski, Sr.: We will know if our politicians are serious about immigration control when they address the reason for so many coming to this country illegally. That is the inadequate access to legal immigration.

Only when our immigration policy defines what jobs are available and provides legal access to those jobs will there be less reason for illegal immigration and more reason for those who are here illegally to return home so that they can enter the country with dignity.

Federal budget woes

HAWTHORNE, Barry Levy: We are told that the budget from the Republican-controlled House isn't good. Yet, the Senate, for years, proposed no budgets and failed to reduce spending. President Barack Obama can get basketball brackets done on time, but, in violation of the law which he took an oath to uphold and defend, can't get his budget submitted on time.

And then, in the middle of the budget and the supposed crisis, we get the report that Vice President Joe Biden spent more than $1 million on staying two nights in a hotel in London and one in Paris. We the taxpayers are told that there are no funds for the White House tours, but we get to pay that $1 million tab for the vice president.

Tell me again who has the wrong priorities.

Reprimanding Palin

DANA POINT, Paul Kolacz: In his letter, "Palin's pot shots," Andrew Gallagher suggests that if Obama, David Letterman or Bill Maher talked about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin the way she talked about President Barack Obama she would have a "hissy fit" [March 19].

My feeling is that Palin would be far more likely to thank these men for referring to her in much more civil terms than they have ever used before.

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PLACENTIA, Dottie Cummings: Letter-writer Andrew Gallagher speculates what Sarah Palin would say "if" she were criticized. She was the most criticized person I'd ever seen during her 2008 campaign.

Everyone was making fun of her. Apparently, Gallagher missed the 2008 election circus and the censure she endured. I have no problem at all with her making plain her disappointment with the current president.

Plastic bag ban

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Kathleen Parker: It's troubling how the Huntington Beach City Council, elected by the people to run the city, is seeking to force citizens to buy and use reusable bags ["Reusable bag ordinance gets first approval from council," Local, March 21].

Plastic bags are recyclable and convenient. A paper bag is recycled wood. How does one know where the polluting bags in the ocean come from? The sea is the town dump for many inland cities.

The council is not a puppet body set up to control the poor peasants. It is freely elected and should listen to the voters. If a majority agree to this proposal, that would be OK. However, to unilaterally rule by decree is un-American.

What a bird-brained idea. Crows are not only beautiful in appearance, but also smart. For instance, an article in Science magazine opined that their cognitive ability may match that of the great apes. Crows are social, comical and clever. They use "tools" to open nuts, they dodge traffic with nimble grace, and have their own song list that they love to sing. Sit quietly near a crow's nest and you will hear them cooing rather than cawing.

The absence of swallows at Capistrano probably has more to do with overbuilding and the noxious fumes of the I-405 than with avian competition.

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